Geoff Ward Becomes Bulldogs Head Coach
Published on January 27, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs News Release
The Edmonton Oilers, a parent club of the Hamilton Bulldogs, have appointed Geoff Ward as head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs for the balance of the 2002-03 season.
The announcement comes 10 days following the appointment of Ward as interim head coach, after Claude Julien was hired as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens.
Ward says that "It's a great honour to have the opportunity to become the head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs and to work with prospects from the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens organizations. My hope is to continue the program that Claude Julien started with the Bulldogs, both in developing prospects for Edmonton and Montreal, and putting a competitive product on the ice for the Hamilton Bulldogs."
Ward, a 40 year-old native of Manitouwadge, Ontario, joined the Hamilton coaching staff as an assistant in January 2001 and helped Claude Julien take the Bulldogs to the 2002 AHL Calder Cup semi-final. Ward will be behind the bench as an assistant coach for Team PlanetUSA at the 2003 AHL All-Star Classic on February 2nd and 3rd at Portland, Maine.
"Geoff has done a tremendous job for us as an assistant coach in Hamilton for the past two-and-a-half seasons and is very deserving of this opportunity," stated Edmonton Oilers Assistant General Manager, Scott Howson.
Martin Madden, the Montreal Canadiens Assistant General Manager stated, "Geoff enjoyed a close relationship with Claude Julien with the Bulldogs and he will provide very important stability to our development team." Ward brings a wealth of coaching experience to his position as he was previously the head coach of the Kitchener Rangers, Guelph Storm and the Mississauga Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League, leading Kitchener and Guelph to Central Division titles in the 1996-97 and 1998-99, respectively.
He also was the head coach of the Arkansas Riverblades of the East Coast Hockey League in 1999-00 and began the 2000-01 season with Bad Nauheim of the German Bundesliga before joining Hamilton. In 1998 Ward led Canada's men's under-18 team to the gold medal at the world championships.
The Bulldogs will name an assistant coach in the near future.
The Hamilton Bulldogs next action will take place on Friday, January 31st as they host the Manitoba Moose at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. Game time is 7:30 p.m. For tickets call the Bulldogs at (905) 529-8500, visit the Copps Coliseum Box Office, or call TicketMaster at (905) 527-7666.
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